EDFish

Selected tag(s): Fishery Management

Bipartisan Dream Team Join Forces to Explain and Promote Catch Shares on the Hill

By / Published: September 17, 2012
Bruce Babbitt and Slade Gorton III

Bruce Babbitt (Source: DOI) and Slade Gorton III (Source: US Senate)

On September 12 and 13, EDF had the pleasure of working with an unlikely but dynamic team of spokespeople. Former Secretary Bruce Babbitt, former Senator Slade Gorton III and Gulf Red Snapper Fisherman Buddy Guindon, met in Washington DC to share their support for catch share management systems with members of the press and the hill. Their message—Catch shares work, the world’s fisheries are in trouble and both democrats and republicans have a responsibility to protect fish stocks and fishermen moving forward.

Gorton and Babbitt, who admit they have not always agreed on issues in the past, have come together on fisheries management because they see catch shares as the way forward for sustainable and profitable fisheries. They believe that a lot of the opposition around catch shares stems from a lack of understanding and education.

In an interview with E & E reporter Laura Petersen, who wrote an excellent piece on this media tour, Gorton commented, “Maybe 30 or 40 members of the House of Representatives out of 435 have any knowledge of the issue at all, so it’s easy, in a sense, to stampede them with sloganeering.”

Babbitt agreed and added, “Fear of change is nothing new in resource management. The political culture is very resistant to change, and that is why education is so critical to assuage concerns and consolidate support.”

Watch an interview from this tour from E&E TV with Bruce and Slade.

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Catch Shares are Working: Keep Them as a Management Option

By / Published: June 1, 2012

NOAA Fish Stock Sustainability IndexCatch shares as a method of aligning economic and environmental incentives have been a hot topic in the news. The Atlantic published a piece by Jonathan H Adler, a professor of law, entitled “Property Rights and Fishery Conservation” which discusses fisheries as an ideal example of the ‘tragedy of the commons’ where introducing concepts of property rights are a smart solution. He writes, “The creation of property rights in an ecological resource not only creates incentives for greater resource stewardship, to conserve the underlying value of the resource today and into the future. It also gives those who rely upon the resource a stake in the broader set of institutions that govern the resource.” He asserts that traditional fishery management has failed world fish stocks and that catch shares are scientifically proven to rebuild the resource and protect the fishermen in the future.

Another story in the Economist entitled “Plenty More Fish in the Sea: Sensible Policies are Working” drew on the recent NOAA stock assessment for proof that utilizing smarter management and paying attention to science has rebuilt a record 6 fish stocks this year. This story gives a history of management that has failed fish stocks and urges Congress to keep catch shares as a management tool. “On May 9th the House passed legislation forbidding NOAA from developing an innovative means of apportioning fishing quotas, known as catch shares. These are long-term, aiming to give fishermen a stake in the future of their fisheries; market-based, since they can be traded; and, in practice, good for fish.”

Catch shares need to be carefully designed and are not a ‘silver bullet’ for all fisheries, but they should be kept on the table as an innovative tool that can help fishermen and fish populations. Decisions about fishery management should be made by Regional Councils, not Congress.

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Charting a Course for Gulf of Maine Cod: Part II

By / Bio / Published: April 3, 2012
Atlantic cod

Atlantic Cod; Photo Credit: NOAA

Yesterday, I recounted the recent history of assessments of the Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod stock that has led to a looming crisis for many New England fishermen, and the management response underway in the form of emergency action.  Today, I discuss two major goals that will most effectively use the time before us to potentially change our understanding of cod status, and avoid or minimize socio-economic hardship.

Expand our scientific perspective
Before the 2011 assessment had even been reviewed, a barrage of criticisms began to be levied.  To be sure, many decisions made during the assessment could have gone a different direction, including data to include or exclude, values for key parameters, and determination of reference points.  Renowned ecologist E.O. Wilson once observed that ecology is far more complex than physics, and fisheries science is a close cousin of ecology.  There are few universal rules for how to assess fish stocks, and the discipline relies heavily on experience, professional judgment, vigorous debate, peer review, and trial and error.  The GOM cod assessment was not lacking in any of those elements.  In my view, the assessment was done right, was done well, and should be commended for achieving what it set out to do.  Gerrymandering the assessment to get a more favorable outcome is both bad practice and bad policy. Read More »

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Charting a Course for Gulf of Maine Cod: Part I

By / Bio / Published: April 2, 2012
Atlantic cod

Atlantic Cod; Photo Credit: NOAA

By now, most people concerned with fisheries management in New England, and in fact many others across the country, are aware of the difficult situation unfolding around the Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod stock.  For those who are not, a stock assessment completed late in 2011 drastically altered our perception of the stock from the last assessment completed in 2008, and suggests that the resource is in much worse shape than we previously thought.

Actually, in many ways the 2011 assessment tells a story similar to the 2008 assessment:  Biomass reached all-time lows during the 1990s, but then approximately doubled by 2001.  Thereafter, biomass dipped again to another low point in the mid-2000s, before climbing again toward the end of the 2000s.

The critical difference between the two assessments lies in the pace of rebuilding since the recent low in the mid-2000s.  The 2008 assessment suggested that the population was increasing extremely rapidly, with growth of more than 200% from 2005 to 2007.   In doing so, it had exceeded the overfishing threshold, and was well on its way toward the rebuilding target biomass that would produce the maximum sustainable yield on a continuing basis. Read More »

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EDF Agrees with 8 New England Senators, We Should Focus on Refinements to Enhance the Groundfish Sector Management Program

By / Bio / Published: July 29, 2011
Emilie Litsinger, EDF Oceans NE Groundfish Project Manager

Emilie Litsinger, EDF Oceans NE Groundfish Project Manager

This week senators from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island sent a letter to Eric Schwaab, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, proposing several refinements to enhance the New England groundfish sector management program.  EDF agrees that we need to be adaptive and sectors – as with all fisheries management tools — need to be refined as experience is gathered and evaluated.  With more than a year of operation under sectors now complete, results of the program’s performance show signs of progress that the fishery has started to turn the corner to a more ecologically and economically stable fishery.

EDF agrees with the senators and is very focused on improving the at-sea monitoring program so that is more reliable, comprehensive, and cost effective.  At-sea monitoring costs need to be reduced and the use and electronic monitoring systems need to be approved.  EDF commissioned Northern Economics Inc to conduct an independent 3rd party review of the current sector monitoring program to compare the program with similar programs on the Pacific Coast and in Alaska to make recommendations for improving the design and reducing the costs of the program.  Read More »

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‘Finding the Ways that Work’ in California Fisheries

By / Published: May 31, 2011

By Guest Blogger, Huff McGonigal, fisheries consultant to EDF and the lead on our California fisheries projects with the spiny lobster fishery.

Spiny Lobster

Spiny Lobster

For the last 10 years, California has been working to create one of the most extensive networks of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the world.  When it’s complete later this year, this network will help protect California marine ecosystem for generations to come.  But while MPAs will form a cornerstone for marine management in the state, simply closing these areas to fishing will not ensure sustainable fisheries off California.  Healthy fisheries, and the communities and jobs that depend on them, require that focus now be shifted to effective management of the 84% of state waters that remain outside the MPA network.

The challenge in California, as in many states, is the persistent lack of agency resources available to move fisheries management forward in a meaningful way.  This is exacerbated by a progressive law in California called the Marine Life Management Act that requires that fisheries be managed under Fishery Management Plans (FMPs).  While the law’s concept of holistic management is a good one, the expense of creating these plans has largely kept them from being developed and management regimes have therefore remained stuck.

In 2008 EDF was approached by leaders of the spiny lobster fishery who were seeking to better control their fishing effort in order to maintain the fishery’s sustainability and economic viability.  There was concern in the fishery that every year there was increasing pressure for fishermen to use more and more traps in order to compete for lobster and for fishing grounds.    Further, as fishing grounds are lost to MPAs, fishing will be squeezed into an even smaller area, making these problems more acute.  However, the requirement that change be carried out through a FMP presented a major obstacle.  The state’s budget problems were worse than ever and the traditional approach, where the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) develops the FMP internally, was not possible.  DFG and the fishery both agreed to try a new approach where DFG retained oversight of the process but where the majority of development would be carried out by contracted, outside expertise.  EDF worked hand in hand with industry,  DFG, and other partners to develop a budget and a broadly supported grant proposal to the Ocean Protection Council to secure the funding necessary to make this new model a reality.

After an extensive peer review, the Ocean Protection Council funded the full request amount of $990,000.  In doing so it formally opened a new avenue for new fisheries management tools and approaches in California.  Not only will this allow the lobster fishery to adjust to the new MPA network, but it represents a scalable model where national and international expertise can be directly engaged in FMP development and for a third of the cost of traditional FMPs.

There is now a pathway in California for coupling and integrating the MPA network with thoughtful, strategic management of fisheries – where closed areas are complemented by well managed open areas, and vice versa.   To do this successfully will establish California as a true leader in ocean governance, and in the end, this is what it will take to ensure a healthy ecosystem, sustainable fisheries, and strong fishing communities.

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